Although the theosophical teachings are recorded in
plain English, there is much in them that will escape the notice of the casual
reader. This is not altogether due to the paucity of the language nor to the
mental equipment of the student. That there are various keys to the
understanding of any problem has been mentioned by H. P. Blavatsky.

In the fuller exposition of facts set forth, H. P. B. and Mr. Judge
sometimes give examples of the use of various keys and in so doing demonstrate
their own full knowledge of these keys and the possibility of the acquirement
of like knowledge by students. In Judge’s introduction to the Bhagavad-Gita we find, “The poem can be
read in many different ways, each depending on the view-point taken, e.g., whether it is considered in its
application to the individual, or to cosmogenesis, or to the evolution of the
Astral World, or the Hierarchies in Nature, or to the moral nature, and so on.”

That Judge was able to approach the Gita
from any of these view-points is shown by his explanations (Notes on the Bhagavad-Gita). In the
reading of the poem he could see himself in the speaker as in the one spoken
to, could survey the battlefield and its portents from the eyes of Krishna as
well as from the eyes of Arjuna, and from the view-points of the spectators and
contenders could learn the lesson intended for each, could even combine the
features typified by Krishna and Arjuna into one individual and draw our
likeness thereby.

The art of reading between the lines was in earlier periods expressed by
symbology, but the gradual materialization of all concepts has either altered
the significance of the symbols or robbed them of all meaning. Our Teachers,
however, could read and interpret the ancient symbols and show us what the
symbols concealed from the profane and revealed to the initiates.

As Judge indicates, much depends on the view-point. If one reads the
theosophical teachings with the eyes of an enemy he will entirely miss the
secrets imparted to students whose minds are open. Some of the least voluminous
of theosophical text-books contain much more wisdom than
could possibly be bound within the covers of any book, as such. It is not as
books that theosophical teachings should be read.

In the study and practice of theosophy one’s view-point changes
frequently, the symbols give various meanings, and the solution of the formula
appears more reasonable and more to be hoped for. Can study of the teachings
make us adepts? Well, let us read between the lines, try all the keys, and
abide the results.

000

In September 2016, after a careful analysis of the state of the
esoteric movement worldwide, a group of students decided to form the Independent Lodge of Theosophists,
whose priorities include the building of a better future in the different dimensions
of life.